(2019-08-10). Facebook 'News': A bold step toward total control of reality? rt.com 
Facebook's plan to hook ad-cash-deprived mainstream outlets on licensing payouts seems to be an attempt to hijack narrative control en route to total domination of the infosphere — the ultimate safe space, Zuckerberg-style.
(2019-08-10). Documents reveal Monsanto surveilled journalists, activists & even musician Neil Young. nationofchange.org Explosive new documents reveal the U.S. agribusiness giant Monsanto ran a "fusion center" to surveil and discredit journalists and activists who criticized or wrote damning reports about Monsanto, as well as legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young, who released an album in 2015 called "The Monsanto Years." Monsanto monitored Young's Twitter activity and even analyzed the lyrics of his album. The fusion center also surveilled journalist Carey Gillam, who has done extensive research and writing about Monsanto and its popular pesticide Roundup, which has been linked to cancer. The corporation also targeted the non…
(2019-08-10). Anti-prison campaigners successfully stopped work on a new 'mega-prison'. thecanary.co Anti-prison campaigners are fighting the creation of a new 'mega-prison' in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. And yesterday they stepped up their campaign by bringing work to a halt. | Disproportionate harm: | On 9 August, members of Community Action on Prison Expansion (CAPE) entered HMP Wellingborough's building site. They successfully occupied the site and said they shut operations down for six hours. In a press release, CAPE member Caren said the group was protestin…
(2019-08-10). ISIS and Al Qaeda are "Made in America". Trump Tweets "We Have Defeated ISIS in Syria" globalresearch.ca In late 2018 and numerous other times, Trump falsely claimed ISIS was defeated. | Last December he tweeted: "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there…" | In his January State of the Union address, he falsely …
(2019-08-10). The global trade in lion body parts is dealt a major blow in South Africa's high court. thecanary.co South Africa's high court has dealt a serious blow to the horrendous trade in lion body parts. Just days before World Lion Day, the court ruled that the quotas the country's authorities set in 2017 and 2018 were both "unlawful" and "constitutionally invalid". | Big business: | The African country is the main export…
(2019-08-10). Republican Central Committee Member Paige Concannon Claims She Started the Recall Campaign. indybay.org Santa Cruz Republican Party Central Committee member Paige Concannon recently claimed on social media that she "started" the campaign to recall Progressive Santa Cruz City Councilmembers Chris Krohn and Drew Glover with "some friends". Concannon was a Santa Cruz City Council candidate in 2018 who lost the race to Councilmember Glover by a significant margin: Glover received 10,972 votes, with Concannon receiving only 3,276. Paige Concannon is also among those who created the false narrative that Councilmember Glover was suing the City of Santa Cruz as a plaintiff in Quintero et al v. the City of Santa Cruz, the l…
(2019-08-09). An offer they can't refuse? Facebook offers mainstream news millions in licensing fees. rt.com 
Facebook is dangling a multimillion-dollar carrot before cash-strapped news outlets, offering a hefty licensing fee in return for the right to use headlines and even entire stories in a new "news section," insiders say.
(2019-08-09). Documents Reveal Monsanto Surveilled Journalists, Activists & Even Musician Neil Young. democracynow.org 
Explosive new documents reveal the U.S. agribusiness giant Monsanto ran a "fusion center" to surveil and discredit journalists and activists who criticized or wrote damning reports about Monsanto, as well as legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young, who released an album in 2015 called "The Monsanto Years." Monsanto monitored Young's Twitter activity and even analyzed the lyrics of his album. The fusion center also surveilled journalist Carey Gillam, who has done extensive research and writing about Monsanto and its popular pesticide Roundup, which has been linked to cancer. The corporation also targeted the nonpro…
(2019-08-09). Tweeting Publicly Available Information isn't "Shameful and Dangerous" counterpunch.org On August 5, US Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) posted an infographic to Twitter naming and shaming his city's most generous supporters of President Donald Trump's re-election campaign: "Sad to see so many San Antonians as 2019 maximum donors to Donald Trump …. Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as More
(2019-08-09). Facebook Settlement Breaks a Record, But Not the Cycle of Exploitation. progressive.org For years, Facebook engaged in a pattern of deceptive conduct that misled users about how their data was being handled. Now, despite a $5 billion fine imposed by the U.S. government, it promises to do little to guarantee a change in behavior.
(2019-08-09). A Federal Court Sounds the Alarm on the Privacy Harms of Face Recognition Technology. aclu.org The court ruled that a lawsuit alleging that Facebook is violating Illinois' biometric privacy law can proceed | On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit became the first appellate court in the nation to directly address the privacy harms posed by face recognition technology. The decision is a significant advance in the fight against the threats of face surveillance, sounding the alarm on the potential for this technology to seriously violate people's privacy. | In Patel v. Facebook, a group of Facebook users from Illin…
(2019-08-08). Iranian War Veteran Gives Advice to Trump. dissidentvoice.org 
Dear President Trump, In a recent Tweet, you claimed that "Iranians never won a war, but never lost a negotiation." As a world citizen and a veteran of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, I have firsthand experience with the bitterness of war, and I have a few suggestions and responses for you. First, I would advise you against …
(2019-08-08). Actress Rosanna Arquette feels 'shame' at being born white; how exactly does that help minorities? rt.com 
With concerns over racism and white supremacy constantly in the news, actress Rosanna Arquette has reacted in a manner some might find a tad extreme, tweeting that she feels "shame" at having been born white and privileged.
(2019-08-08). That'll show them! Republicans BOYCOTT Twitter ads over McConnell censorship. rt.com 
The Republican Party has halted advertising on Twitter after the campaign account of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was locked for quoting death threats made against him. It is unclear if this will change Twitter's mind.
(2019-08-08). The real threat to free speech. greenleft.org.au 
#Folau was still trending on Twitter in Australia on August 7 as the endless whining — amplified by the corporate media — about sacked rugby player Israel Folau allegedly having his freedom to express his bigoted hate speech restricted persists. | Meanwhile, some very serious threats to free speech are going under-reported. | That same day, the High Court reversed former public service worker Michaela Bannerji's successful worker's compensation case. | Bannerji was sacked in 2013 for posting mild criticisms of Australia's inhumane offshore detention of asylum seekers. Her Tweets were not posted under…
(2019-08-08). Brexit has given us an unelected bureaucrat, who married into aristocracy, pulling the strings in Downing Street. thecanary.co Dominic Cummings is an unelected bureaucrat who's described as "assistant to the prime minister", with responsibilities for Brexit and domestic policy. He is clearly determined to see the UK leave the EU by the 31 October deadline. Though…
(2019-08-07). These 7 Prominent Conservatives Have Nothing in Common With White Supremacists, Nothing at All. theintercept.com 
A man wears a MAGA hat during the Western Conservative Summit in Denver on July 12, 2019. | cool kid's philosopher" — took to Twitter to berate those who dare draw any kind of line between President Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and U.S. conservatives on the one hand and white nationalist terrorists on the other. | So, we now have two separate NYT columnists arguing that all conservatives are basically violent white supremacists, but slightly more subtle. Let me put this gently: f*** yourselves.
(2019-08-07). UN Afghan Mission 'outraged' by deadly Taliban attack in Kabul, as hardline group threatens election violence. un.org The UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed outrage at a Taliban attack in Kabul, that led to "scores" of civilians casualties on Wednesday. In a Tweet, the Mission said that such "indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks in heavily populated civilian areas must stop".
(2019-08-07). Líder de FRSO critica masacre en masa racista en El Paso. fightbacknews.org Washington DC – "La Organización Socialista del Camino a la Libertad (FRSO) condena enérgicamente el asesinato en masa realizado en El Paso", dijo Masao Suzuki, presidente de la Comisión de Nacionalidades Conjuntas de FRSO. Sobre el tirador dijo: "Con una cuenta de Twitter gustando el hashtag BuildtheWall y una foto de armas que deletrean a Trump, está claro que la motivación para este crimen de supremacía blanca está determinada por los ataques racistas de Trump". | El 3 de agosto, un hombre armado que apoya a Trump llevó a cabo una masacre de al menos 20 personas en El Paso, Texas, que justificó en una declarac…
(2019-08-06). Business Group Spending on Lobbying in Washington Is at Least Double What's Publicly Reported. theintercept.com Influential corporate trade organizations and nonprofits spent $535 million on lobbying in 2017 and as much as another $675 million on unregulated efforts to influence public policy, according to a two-month investigation. | The figures, taken together, highlight how business interests can exploit loopholes in lobbying rules, which don't cover many staples of modern influence campaigns, such as strategic consulting, broadcast advertising, media relations, social media posts, and polling — or even the financing of astroturf campaigns. | MapLight r…
(2019-08-03). El Paso Shooting Suspect May Have Authored Manifesto Containing White Nationalist Talking Points. splcenter.org The suspect in a shooting that left 20 people dead at an El Paso Walmart may have posted and liked anti-immigrant leaning remarks on what appears to be his Twitter account.
(2019-08-01). Facebook Dismantles Saudi-Linked Network of Fake Accounts. theantimedia.com More than 350 profiles and pages linked to the Saudi government with some 1.4 million followers were taken down by Facebook on Thursday.
(2019-07-29). Texas sheriff who stars on reality show fails to publicly address sexist images posted on Facebook by one of his top officers. splcenter.org Stories about law enforcement officers disciplined for posting offensive images or words on Facebook are increasingly popping up in the news.